Friday, August 02, 2013

We sometimes talk here about the juggling act involved in being a writer. Forgive me if I return to that topic today. My post is inspired by best-laid plans gone wrong. I had intended to post about the wonderful experiences I'm having as I work on taking photos of Albany (the setting of my new series) for a writer's essay. I had some photos I wanted to share to illustrate how going out with camera in hand can help a writer to "see" better. But that will have to wait for my next post because my laptop where my photos are stored and neatly ordered will not come on. The battery is dead because the adapter stopped working. So now I have to wait for Best Buy to open to pick up a new adapter. If that doesn't work, I need to make a trip to my computer guy and then decide whether it would be more cost effective to buy a new laptop to replace my aging machine or do yet another repair.

I recite this tale of woe because the laptop went down just as I finally figured out how to deal with a subplot that has been driving me crazy. Or, at least I had it almost figured out -- except for the matter of travel during that blizzard that I really need but that does keep my killer from zipping across town. But I was getting there. Finally, unstuck. I think it was stopping to watch Project Runway (yes, I admit it. I'm a fan). After watching tempers flare, tears being shed, and creativity on display, all of the "mind mapping" I had been doing about my plotting problem suddenly paid off. (Do you do that -- the key words and connecting circles?)

Anyway, that was when my laptop went down. I'm writing this on my desk top computer -- which is finally connecting to the Internet again after several long telephone troubleshooting sessions with my cable company's customer service technicians and a trip to the cable store in the mall last week to pick up a new modem. Only problem is, I don't have time for another session of trying to upload the photos on my new camera that I've had to learn how to use. So the photos will have to wait. Except today I had planned to work on my Pinterest page for The Red Queen Dies. I was torn between posting the photos on Facebook or doing Pinterest. Then I read Laurie King's comments about Pinterest and saw her lovely photo essays for her books.

But I need to learn how to "pin". I'm hoping it's easy because yesterday was the first day of my virtual book tour. With the help of my escort, Partners in Crime, I'm stopping at various websites where the hosts will post a review of the book, interview me, or I will guest post. On sites where the hosts does giveaways, my publisher is donating a book for a giveaway to a reader. I don't know if virtual book tours work. Certainly, it's a great way to reach Internet bloggers and readers and start to create a buzz about the book. But I don't know if this will translate into sales. Chances are I will reach some readers who had never heard of me before. Of course, I also have to be prepared to take some lumps. The website hosts who review the book are not required to give good reviews.

So I'm working on book two, dealing with computer problems, trying to get my photos that I should have taken a couple of months ago up on Pinterest, taking my virtual tour, trying to plan for my book launch party in September (which requires some thought because Alice in Wonderland themed decorations aren't as easy to find as I expected -- at least not for adult book parties), and trying to get around to adding all of the terrific research material that I have for The Red Queen Dies to my website.

For months, September 2013 and the debut of the new series seemed forever away. Now, it's almost here and my attention is half on that book, half on the one I'm writing. And, of course, there is my other career as a professor and the academic book that I'm also working on. School is about to begin. Bouchercon in Albany is coming up. Life is crazy.

Oddly, enough I'm having a wonderful time. I was thinking the other day how when I imagined being a writer, I always knew I would write. But I never really thought that people would read my books. That is really cool. I would write even if no one read what I'd written. But it is so incredibly cool to actually share the stories in my head and connect with other people who may or may not completely understand what I intended to say -- and sometimes that's my fault because I didn't say it well -- but there is this exchange of ideas going on. Communication.

Off to see if I'm lucky and the problem with my laptop is only an adapter. Next time -- the post about writing with a camera in hand. Assuming nothing else goes wrong with that, and I can keep all my balls in the air.

4 comments:

I'm still waiting for the brain fairies to solve my "how are they going to get where I need them to be and when" problem. And I get what you said about connecting with readers. Sometimes what they read is miles away from what I thought I wrote. Their insights are always enlightening! I always figure that once the book is done, it isn't mine any more, but each reader makes it hers.

Rick Blechta writes on Tuesdays

Barbara Fradkin writes on alternate Wednesdays

Sybil Johnson writes on Alternate Wednesdays

John Corrigan writes on alternate Thursdays

Donis Casey writes on alternate Thursdays

Charlotte Hinger writes on alternate Fridays

Frankie Bailey writes on Alternate Fridays

Vicki Delany writes on the second weekend of every month

Mario Acevedo writes on the 4th Saturday of each month

Aline Templeton

Aline Templeton lives in Edinburgh in a house with a balcony overlooking the beautiful city skyline. Her series featuring DI Marjory Fleming is set in beautiful Galloway, in South-west Scotland. alinetempleton.co.uk

Marianne Wheelaghan

Marianne is from Edinburgh. She left home at seventeen. After a heap of travelling, which included living in Kiribati, the third most remote country in the world, she ended back in Edinburgh where she still lives very happily. Her crime mysteries feature DS Louisa Townsend, The Scottish Lady Detective, and are mostly set in the Pacific. Read more about Marianne and her books on her blog: www.mariannewheelaghan.co.uk and at @MWheelaghan

Rick Blechta

Rick has two passions in life, mysteries and music, and his thrillers contain liberal doses of both. He has two upcoming releases, Roses for a Diva, his sequel to The Fallen One, for Dundurn Press, and for Orca’s Rapid Reads series, The Boom Room, a second book featuring detectives Pratt & Ellis. You can learn more about what he’s up to at www.rickblechta.com. From the musical side, Rick leads a classic soul band in Toronto. Check out SOULidifiedband.com. And lastly, being a former line cook with an interest in all things culinary, he has a blog dedicated to food: A Man for All Seasonings.

Barbara Fradkin

Barbara Fradkin is a retired psychologist with a fascination for how we turn bad. Her dark short stories haunt the Ladies Killing Circle anthologies, but she is best known for her award-winning series featuring the quixotic, exasperating Ottawa Police Inspector Michael Green, published by Dundurn Press. The ninth book, The Whisper of Legends, was published in April 2013. Visit Barbara at barbarafradkin.com.

Sybil Johnson

Sybil Johnson’s love affair with reading began in kindergarten with “The Three Little Pigs.” Visits to the library introduced her to Encyclopedia Brown, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle and a host of other characters. Fast forward to college where she continued reading while studying Computer Science. After a rewarding career in the computer industry, Sybil decided to try her hand at writing mysteries. Her short fiction has appeared in Mysterical-E and Spinetingler Magazine, among others. Originally from the Pacific Northwest, she now lives in Southern California where she enjoys tole painting, studying ancient languages and spending time with friends and family. Find her at www.authorsybiljohnson.com.

John R Corrigan

John R. Corrigan is D.A. Keeley, author of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agent Peyton Cote series, which is set along the Maine-Canada border. Bitter Crossing (summer 2014) will be the first of at least three novels in the series. Born in Augusta, Maine, he lives with his wife and three daughters at Northfield Mount Hermon School in western Massachusetts, where he is English department chair, a teacher, a hockey coach, and may very well be the only mystery writer in North America who also serves as a dorm parent to 50 teenage girls. A Mainer through and through, he tries to get to Old Orchard Beach, Maine, as often as possible. You can see what he's up to by visiting www.amazon.com/author/DAKeeley or dakeeleyauthor.blogspot.com or on Twitter (@DAKeeleyAuthor).

Donis Casey

Donis is the author of six Alafair Tucker Mysteries. Her award-winning series, featuring the sleuthing mother of ten children, is set in Oklahoma during the booming 1910s. Donis is a former teacher, academic librarian, and entrepreneur. She lives in Tempe, AZ, with her husband, poet Donald Koozer. The latest Alafair Tucker novel, The Wrong Hill to Die On (Poisoned Pen Press, 2012), is available in paper or electronic format wherever books are sold. Readers can enjoy the first chapter of each book on her web site at www.doniscasey.com.

Frankie Bailey

Frankie Y. Bailey is a criminal justice professor who focuses on crime, history, and American culture. Her current project is a book about dress, appearance, and criminal justice. Her mystery series featuring crime historian Lizzie Stuart is set mainly in the South. Her near-future police procedural series featuring Detective Hannah McCabe is set in Albany, New York. Visit Frankie at frankieybailey.com.

Charlotte Hinger

Charlotte Hinger is a novelist and Western Kansas historian. Convinced that mystery writing and historical investigation go hand in hand, she now applies her MA in history to academic articles and her depraved imagination to the Lottie Albright series for Poisoned Pen Press. charlottehinger.com

Vicki Delany/Eva Gates

Vicki Delany is one of Canada’s most prolific and varied crime writers. She is the author of more than 25 books, including the Sherlock Holmes Bookshop series, the Year Round Christmas cozy series, the Constable Molly Smith books, standalone novels of suspense, the Klondike Gold Rush series, and novellas for adult literacy. As Eva Gates, she is the author of the national bestselling Lighthouse Library cozy series from Penguin. Find Vicki at www.vickidelany.com and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/evagatesauthor/

Mario Acevedo

Mario Acevedo is the author of the Felix Gomez detective-vampire series. His short fiction is included in the anthologies, You Don’t Have A Clue: Latino Mystery Stories for Teens and Hit List: The Best of Latino Mystery, and in Modern Drunkard Magazine. Mario lives with a dog in Denver, CO. His website is marioacevedo.com.